We are losing Member's Perks!

[La2kw]

The AP discount is the best, IMO. We only go once a year, but we plan our trips to get two years out of one pass. It works out cheaper than any of the MYW passes. If they take away that perk, I'll probably be spending much less time at WDW.

My DVC kitchen is better than any minuscule dining discount. I can eat a healthy, cheap meal in my villa and give less money to Disney. Especially since the food and service are a shadow of what they used to be pre-DDP days.

It does seem stupid to me that some DVC located restaurants give us a discount and some don't. We are owners after all, and our dues do help to run the place.

 

[Mark099]

Wow! This thread has taken on a life of it's own! Thanks for all the feedback -- even some of the negative ones.

Mark-

FWIR, I think the only discount at T-Rex was the AP discount, and not one tied to the DVC membership.

The funny thing, is that after eating at many of the places that there is a discount, I think it is more about giving a discount to a captive audience (DVC members) because business at that place is not as good as Mickey wants it. T-Rex is a good example, because like Rainforest, the place is more about the experience than it is about good food. With that, comes limited repeat business.

Actually, we thought the food at the T-Rex was quite good. Good enough to consider going back on future trips as long as the wait for a table is less than an hour. That said, I know what you mean and a better example might be Planet Hollywood. It's been a long time since we've had a decent meal at Planet Hollywood and that would include the one in Hawaii too.

We have reservations at T-Rex and Wolfgang Puck Cafe for our trip in May and I was told when I made our reservations that both places would honor both a DVC and an AP 10% discount for dinner. I had to call the T-Rex restaurant directly for ressies since they are not owned by Disney but I did confirm that both of these discounts started in January. I WAS going to get the TIW card too but now that they've raised the price on that I am not sure if it's worth it for us any more...

The AP discount is one thing that prompts us to go more than once a year...we definitely would not go 2 or 3 times a year if they dropped that perk. Having AP's definitely encourages us to maximze our membership by going more than once a year. We actually briefly considered going to DL for one trip this year then remembered that we'd have to buy tix so we dropped the idea since it would be cheaper to go to DW again in that respect. Personally, I would like to see the AP's work at either park. I think that would be a nice perk and we would definitely hop between FL and CA.

We got screwed then. We spent well over $200 on food/drink. We ate at T-Rex twice and I was denied using my DVC card for a discount. To hear it started in January makes it even more disappointing.

Frankly, if I was only interested in "perk", I wouldn't buy DVC. I feel we get the best "perk" anywhere with our $100 discount on APs. It's the only one I ever use and the only one I need. With the AP, I can buy the TIW card and save way more on meals than any "perk" DVC has. As far as I'm concerned, the AP perk is the only one. Well, other than DVC ownership itself!

The AP discount is, by far, the best perk, but unless we move or win the lottery it's not something we will use.

Why can't you understand that getting 10% off at Boma (which is now gone) is my "$100 AP discount"? You have your's, but I'm not allowed to be unhappy for losing mine?

You're missing the point. People didn't buy in for the perks, but it was a small reason why people feel DVC is special.

Personally, they could get rid of the AP discount and I won't care, but I bet some on here will. Why is that?

Agreed! One poster reported that her family saves over $700 a year with the AP discount. We would have to spend $7000+ on Disney dining (at discounted restaurants only) in hopes to even come close to that savings.

I think it's aweful to offer us perks then take them away and not offer something comparable in return. No one buys into DVC for perks and you all know that so why admonish the OP about that, rediculous. If the AP perk suddenly dissapeared you would all be up in arms that use it. Let's be real, DVC continues to take advantage of it's membership because they have our money and since Jim Lewis took over it's been downhill steady and continually in this area. Not giving a discount to members at DVC resort eating establishments is horrible in my opinion. Given this economy I would think that they need to offer more and better perks if they plan to continue to entice and sell memberships and have people actually buy them. Don't give me that you are only buying the right to book a room garbage there either, you want people to be happy and spread the word about how fabulous DVC is then you take care of the membership with perks, not take them away and lessen the perceived value. Just my opinion and $.02.....

Thank you!

WHAT? You bought a place to stay and you are going to whine when you don't get "perks" and get told how "special" you are for spending money?

Are you going to buy MORE points because you got 10% off at dinner?

Can you send me a picture of your face after you hear that DVC removes your favorite perk and you don't want to look like a hypocrite by posting and complaining here?

I do understand disappointment with the removal of discounts that affect us personally - I used to enjoy the 10% off at Biergarten with the AP - that's gone now too. But, per the above (and I know others have pointed this out as well), discounts are offered to bring people into a place that is not getting enough business at the time. I guess what makes it easier for me to swallow is that I called once to complain about some exceptionally terrible service I received at the San Angel Inn. A rep from the Disney customer care group called me and commiserated with me about the treatment I received, but told me that the only thing she could do was pass the comments along to the general manager of the company who ran the restaurant! I was amazed and had never realized that there are restaurants on Disney property that are actually not run by Disney. She mentioned a few others (which I have since forgotten ) but this conversation opened my eyes to what goes on "behind the scenes" (and subsequently a little of the magic fizzled ). Anyway, I feel the OP and others have the right to complain when some of these little niceties disappear - I just wanted the OP to know that there is a better "reason" for it (sometimes) than what member services told you. For the restaurants that are not run by Disney, I do understand they don't have any control over the discounts offered. I guess the conflict with being honest about this is that they try to present a unified front where everything-you-see-is-Disney when you go there, but in reality it's not. Just my viewpoint.

Terri

That is interesting to know. I didn't realize that Disney would allow as many outside parties as they do -- other than the obvious ones (e.g. McDonalds).

did anyone miss the fact that there are NEW locations and NEW discounts? Like the T-Rex discount, Tutto Italia, Wolfgang Puck Monday discount, Fulton's, amongst others?

I suppose that it is more fun for some to just whinge, but so far several posters have pointed out NEW discounts for 2009. Frankly, I like variety.

No, the new perks didn't go un-noticed. However, the loss of old favorites is what I am concerned about. The 50% discount on Mondays at Wolfgang Pucks almost makes it worthwhile to make a special trip.

I still don't understand why there are a greater variety of dining and shopping perks offered at Disneyland relative to the total numbers of options available. Personally, I don't think there is a lot of variety offered in WDW. Most of the perks seem to be the $30+/person places.

I did the math when you posted that. And hence my confusion. Perhaps I can use German math as an excuse, but what is yours?

The number of discounts does not appear to have changed; some of the locations of the discounts have, as they do every so often. I have no issue with that. And that is why I continue to ask the OP for clarification as there doesn't appear to be any net loss of perks in 2009.

Perhaps, you are right. There appears to be a net gain from 2008 to 2009. However, like those with the $100 AP discount tunnel vision, I tend to focus on the favorites I have lost (e.g. Boma) and getting denied from ones I was entitled to (e.g. T-Rex).

Overall I've found the "perks" to be wanting. As has been mentioned, we didn't buy perks, we bought lodging. During our last trip, I voted for perks with my wallet. The discount had been eliminated from Artist Pallet at SSR, so we did not purchase any meals there. In fact, the only meal we purchased was the Candlelight Processional package. Our minimal Disney food purchases saved far more than the 10% Disney "saved" by not offering the discount.

These things used to bother me, but there is more to life to deal with than this. Our vacation objective is to have a great vacation, within our budget, and enjoy life to the best of our ability. During our last stay, we found that enjoying a family meal in the villa was a great way to do that.

Perhaps, eating a few more meals off-site is a way of making up for the loss of our favorite perks. The last time we stayed at SSR the Artist Pallet wasn't quite open yet. Is it a nice restaurant?

I hope you can see that what is a great perk for one person might be an unimportant one to another. If I was interested in a discount at a restaurant, I'd for SURE want it to be more than the 10% DVC gives as a "perk". That's why I still contend the AP discount is the best, since we can get the 20% discount on a lot more restaurants with the TIW card available to AP holders.

Unfortunately, TiW is ONLY offered to AP holders and Florida residents.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

The AP discount is the best, IMO. We only go once a year, but we plan our trips to get two years out of one pass. It works out cheaper than any of the MYW passes. . .

We also schedule our trips so that we buy an AP every other year (for a total of about 21 nights on each AP), but traveling this would still be a signficiant savings even without the DVC discount.

I have grown up traveling to DL and I guess I am used to playing the game of putting all your cards on the table to see which gets the biggest discount. Right now, the DL Deluxe AP you buy at Costco is cheaper than one bought with a DVC discount. -- Suzanne

 

[Mark099]

The AP discount is the best, IMO. We only go once a year, but we plan our trips to get two years out of one pass. It works out cheaper than any of the MYW passes. If they take away that perk, I'll probably be spending much less time at WDW.

My DVC kitchen is better than any minuscule dining discount. I can eat a healthy, cheap meal in my villa and give less money to Disney. Especially since the food and service are a shadow of what they used to be pre-DDP days.

It does seem stupid to me that some DVC located restaurants give us a discount and some don't. We are owners after all, and our dues do help to run the place.

This trip we didn't have the luxury of staying at a DVC resort. We paid cash and stayed at the Pop. My sister, and her family, plan to use our points later this year for a 12 night stay in a 2BR villa.

It's interesting you mentioned cooking in the villa and eating healthier. Obviously, the dining perks are not good enough for you to prevent you from cooking. My daughter, she's 10, decided this September after the Maple Leaf meat scare in Canada decided to become a vegetarian. More so than ever, we really had a hard time finding things she would eat in the theme parks. Luckily, she still eats fish and that bailed us out a few times, but Disney really needs to do a better job at their counter service locations of providing better rounded menus. Not all locations seem to have compelling vegetarian options. Quite often, we were running somewhere else to get something for her.

 

[Mark099]

We also schedule our trips so that we buy an AP every other year (for a total of about 21 nights on each AP), but traveling this would still be a signficiant savings even without the DVC discount.

I have grown up traveling to DL and I guess I am used to playing the game of putting all your cards on the table to see which gets the biggest discount. Right now, the DL Deluxe AP you buy at Costco is cheaper than one bought with a DVC discount. -- Suzanne

Is the pass only sold at Costco in CA?

I am curious as to what the total cost is compared to the DVC discount cost.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Is the pass only sold at Costco in CA?

I am curious as to what the total cost is compared to the DVC discount cost.

The DVC Deluxe AP is $20 off the list price, for a net cost of $249. The Costco Deluxe AP pass is $269 pp, including a $50 gift card, for a net cost of $219. I believe there have been reports of the Costco pass being sold in the West in states other than CA. We still have lots here in my home town Costco, but some have reported it is sold out in Costco's near DL. It was offered starting last Fall and must be redeemed at DL by May 31, 2009. -- Suzanne

 

[cruella1114]

I am a DVC member ...could someone tell me what a Tiw card is ???

 

[helenk]

I am a DVC member ...could someone tell me what a Tiw card is ???

Its the Table in Wonderland card, formally known as the Disney Dining Experience. It gives you 20% your food and beverages(alcohol too) at most of the table service restaurants in the resorts and the parks. It is also good the food courts in the value resorts, the counter service restaurants in the AK and I think the foodcourt at the POFQ.
You can buy the card if you are an AP holder, it is not a DVC perk.

 

[dianeschlicht]

The AP discount is the best, IMO. We only go once a year, but we plan our trips to get two years out of one pass. It works out cheaper than any of the MYW passes. If they take away that perk, I'll probably be spending much less time at WDW.

My DVC kitchen is better than any minuscule dining discount. I can eat a healthy, cheap meal in my villa and give less money to Disney. Especially since the food and service are a shadow of what they used to be pre-DDP days.

It does seem stupid to me that some DVC located restaurants give us a discount and some don't. We are owners after all, and our dues do help to run the place.

Absolutely! We did buy APs before the discount and traveled much as you do now planning two trips just under a year apart and then taking a year off. Now we tend to only take a few months between APs, but we still do them.

I agree about the kitchens too. The whole reason for a full apartment in a timeshare is so you have access to that kitchen. I disagree about the restauarants giving us a discount "because we are owners'. We are NOT owners of the restaurants. Most of them aren't even Disney owned anymore, much less DVC owned! For example: Yak and Yetti is owned by a Minnesotan.

 

[Princess_Melanie]

We love the AP perk - coming from the UK it's a decent saving for us, and one less hassle to deal with lol!! We activated our APs in Dec 08 and managed 2 weeks out of them that trip, 1 more week in Jan 09 and we're booked now for 3 weeks at AKL and SSR in September. As my father would say "result!"

As for the dining perks - hit and miss for us - we must remember to try our APs more for checking discounts - we're just not used to it and keep forgetting....we're looking at a TiW card for Sept this year - 3 weeks and a lot of our favourite places are on the discount list!!

I guess with perks changing there are always going to be some people unhappy to see the chages but others welcoming them in....I'm torn between possibly losing a favourite and "yay" something new to try....our dining habits are not based on where the discounts are so we're ok with change.

I guess something else I've just thought of regarding perks etc with the DVC -when they (DVC) do give us anything else - you can guarantee there are always folk who are totally unhappy with it. You only have to look at the Merry Mixer that happens at christmas - how many people moaned and griped about it because all they did was queue and get a 'lousy' crispy treat and cup of cider yadda yadda yadda....it was free to go to, it was a bit of fun for kids, it was supposed to be a mixer not an elaborate Disney function. We found it ok but we really wanted the pin so were ok with the queues etc.

We bought into the DVC because we wanted the option of going to WDW regularly, and it was a big saving for us (we bought in 2007 when the exchange was EXCELLENT!) And also for when it happens, we want to be able to take our kids to WDW every year not just once in their childhood!

 

[granmanh603]

It's 30% at lunch per the email that she quoted. I got the same email since we are traveling to WDW next week.

Well as per you info went over to Fultons for lunch today ....only got a 20% discount as per info in member perks...

 

[Inkmahm]

Well as per you info went over to Fultons for lunch today ....only got a 20% discount as per info in member perks...

I don't know. I have eaten there at lunch before and gotten the 30%. I will be eating there again next week for lunch. Here's the email I got on March 10:

Remember to pack your Disney Vacation Club Member ID Card, which entitles you to a great discount on select Annual Passes plus fantastic perks like these:

Special Member Offer

Receive half-off your purchase of children's tickets at La Nouba™ by Cirque du Soleil® in Downtown Disney® West Side. Now it's easier to enjoy the magic and imagination this spectacular show with the whole family.

This offer is subject to availability and limited to six tickets per Member for performances from Feb. 1 to April 2. Call Member Services to purchase your tickets, and remember to bring your Disney Vacation Club Member Card when picking up your tickets.


Dining • Tutto Italia Ristorante in Epcot® – Save 10% off lunch and dinner.
• Flying Fish Café at Disney's BoardWalk entertainment district - Save 10% on dinner from 5:30-6:30 pm and from 9:00-10:00 pm (reservations required).
• Portobello at the Downtown Disney Area - Save 20% on lunch.
• Fulton's Crab House at the Downtown Disney Area - Save 30% on lunch and 20% on dinner

• House of Blues® at Downtown Disney West Side - Save 20% on dinner.

Note: Dining discounts do not include tax, gratuity, or alcoholic beverages.

Recreation • Disney Resort Marinas - Save 10% on rentals of bicycles and a wide range of watercraft at your nearest marina at The Villas At Disney's Wilderness Lodge.
• Sammy Duvall's Watersports Centre at Disney's Contemporary Resort - Save 10% on parasailing, wakeboarding, waterskiing, and more.


Visit dvcmember.com for complete details (including restrictions) on all the Member Perks available at the Walt Disney World Resort. And also look for Portable Perks, included in your Disney Vacation Club Resort check-in folder.

 

[granmanh603]

Sorry not questioning you, just trying to update you on our visit today...since I had no email to print out and bring and there is nothing in the perks book or on the dvc site that they tell you to go to I could not argue about the discount. We will be here til the 23 so if you do get the discount let me know.
We usually go and have lunch there and visit with a nice waitress Jill, she is the one who told us about the 30% the first time like 2 years ago but both times we got the 30% it was in Oct. She was busy today and it was crowded for lunch which we usually don't run into so I was not going to make an issue of it. 20% isn't too bad and our food has been great and the view of SSR is super... Sorry if you thought I was questioning you.

 

[lugnut33]

Point missed again. I do indeed have the "RIGHT" to the AP discount AT THIS TIME, just as all other members do. Have I always had that "right"? No, because it hasn't always been a perk. Could I lose it in the future? Of course.... Would I be happy about it? No, but I was never guaranteed to have it in the first place.

Believe me, the discounts, be they APs or 10 % dining discounts or a free picture of me with the mouse are nice, but they are NOT the reason any of purchased DVC. We did that to have pre-paid accommodations in larger than normal ON SITE hotels without spending $5000 a trip. Sure, it's nice to get those perks, but it in no way makes me feel "special". What makes me feel special is that I was smart enough to buy DVC in the first place.

Back when we purchased, they had just ended the "free passes" promotion. I was disappointed that we missed out on that, but it certainly didn't keep me from feeling less "special" and certainly didn't keep me from buying DVC.

I guess I don't understand why DVC should be worried about stroking our egos instead of giving us a quality product.

Now, if you tell me they are going to futher downgrade the housekeeping that's done between guests, then I'd say we have something to worry and talk about.

Jeesh, it must be really cold up dehr en Minnesnowta.

Show me one person on here that has said they bought solely for the discounts? They do not exist. However, as you pointed out as priviledges are taken away you were "disappointed that we missed out". See, so even you don't like it when things are taken away and that's the whole point. It is disappointing when DVC takes things away that directly affect someones travel plans or wallet.

And the only reason you have a right to a AP disc. is because Disney offered it and they can take it away. Will it bother me when they take that discount away, not one bit. Will I feel bad for others who get value out of it, heck yes, I guess I'm empathetic to others situation. As an example, when DVC realigned points, didn't affect me at all, but I felt really bad for others (interestingly, some Disers felt that people losing point value should be happy and that made no sense).

 

[tjkraz]

It is disappointing when DVC takes things away that directly affect someones travel plans or wallet.

If we first accept the reality that DVC is not going to get us discounts on ALL restaurants, ALL forms of recreation and ALL ticket types, then no perk will ever be universally loved.

If Boma is removed from the discount list and Flying Fish added, then boo for Boma fans and hurrah for Flying Fish fans. That's just the reality of the situation. Yes, some people will be disappointed that Boma is no longer discounted, but other members will be pleased that FF was added. And Boma fans are no more entitled to a discount than FF fans. It's only right for DVC to spread things around a bit.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I look forward to the discounts, and am happy when I can take advantage of some. We don't go often enough to buy AP's or PAP's...so won't ever get the TIW card. I know they come and go.....but my big discount is on my room, so I'll be happy with that!

 

[kgc07]

I'm not so sure the list on the website that was linked is correct. Disney dining and the member website still says that Coral Reef offers a 10% lunch discount.